


Searching

by AmazingPoo



Category: 19天 - Old先 | 19 Days - Old Xian
Genre: BAMF Mo Guan Shan, Friends to Lovers, Hurt Mo Guan Shan, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Underdog - Mo Guan Shan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-22 21:14:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17670221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmazingPoo/pseuds/AmazingPoo
Summary: "If you could choose your life, what would you be doing right now ?"He Tian rolled his head towards Guan Shan, kind of surprised the latter would engages the conversation. He inhaled a puff of smoke before answering."Don't know. Trying to get into your pants without your mother noticing it. In your room, playing video games. Thinking about the holidays to come, planning to take you and the other two idiots somewhere nice.""That's fucking specific".He Tian laughed a little."I often think about it".-- Somewhere during middle school, lets say after chapter 275 maybe.---





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so full disclosure : im not a native english speaker and i wrote this fic for the sole purpose of improving my english. So please dont hesitate to correct me in the reviews or anything, its kind of the point ! Well I dont really know where the story is going, but it should be relatively short so youll have the end. How and when, though.... For the same reason, I choose not to use archive warnings, but its possible that later the rating or warnings will change. Ill warn you in the beginning of the chapter though, in case abuse or violence bother you. 
> 
> \---
> 
> I kind of dont like how the fandom interprets He Tian and Mo Guan Shan -the former being a nice misunderstood guy and the latter being a cute ball of tsundere fluff. So yeah, in this fic I want to show how He Tian The Jerk evolved into being someone respectful of others, and how the living conditions of Guan Shan formed him into being a ball of anxiety and mistrust of others - yeah being ditch poor isnt a cute quirk. But Guan Shan will be OOC because,, I just love the underdog trope -where everyone despises a character but this one is in fact intelligent and strong. so yea, badass Mo Guan shan ahead lol.

He tian closed the front door behind him and dragged his feet to his bed. He was coming back from four whole days to his father’s villa. Not that he had seen the man, mind you. One night, there was just a long black car waiting in his street when he was coming back from school. He knew the driver by sight ; that’s how he had quickly realized that it meant business. He had thought of ignoring them, but the big guys blocking his way to his apartment made it clear that it wasn’t possible. No matter how above-everyone-else he wanted to be, at the end of the day, when his father wanted something, there was nothing he could do. It didn’t matter what he wanted ; it was his father’s way or no way at all. Or rather, his father’s way, final point. This thought sometimes suffocated him; how his life wasn’t his own, how no matter how much he loathed his father, it wouldn’t impact the guy at all. When he was young, he used to cling to the idea that if he wished for something strongly enough, then it would come true. So, he had passed nights and nights wishing his dad would notice him, would be kind to him, would let him have friends and pets. When that didn’t work, he wished for his father’s death, instead. It didn’t change anything either. His father had taken a malicious pleasure to make him feel how powerless he really was. Since then, He Tian had taken precautions to want nothing at all. It was easier to just submit. It was also easier to not pay attention at the loneliness that was slowly eating him up from inside.

But recently, it had changed. He tian reflected on how that happened, sprawling in his bed, looking at the ceiling. At first, it was certainly Jyan Yi. He was mesmerizing; no one with eyes could lie about that. And if He Tian was proud of something, it was that he was always honest with himself. So yeah, Jyan Yi being who he was, and He Tian having his own inclinations, it was no wonder that the little guy had caught his attention. He was a boisterous individual, so fucking alive. He was so obviously pining for his best friend and living his emotions at his fullest, it just made He Tian want to mess with him. Maybe He Tian could never have anything for himself in his whole life, but that didn’t mean he had to die of boredom. Leave that to his brother. He was a nihilistic optimistic after all, he wanted his fun. But soon enough, this whole lusting thing after Jyan Yi made him… sad, maybe. It was not his place, because there was already Zhan Zheng Xi. These two had such a relationship that it was hard not to feel like a third wheel with them. And He Tian was not the type of person to be content with being a secondary character in the movie of someone else life. Still, it was quite fun to play the trouble maker for a while. Most of all, it gave him the occasion to meet Little Mo.

The red head was nothing at the beginning. He Tian knew himself well enough to understand his motives in messing with the wannabe delinquent in the first place. He wanted something to play with until it would break. He Tian was not a good guy ; he didn’t use his considerable charm and strength to save people or to make the world a better place. How could he ? He was nothing himself in this fucked up stage. No, he used his endowments to spot the weak and toy with them. That gave him a sense of control, controlling other’s people life. And it was so easy to see through the red head. All alone in this school, despised by the teachers and the students alike, not a glimpse of a good future in front of him. The antisocial boy was deeply aware of this, and had taken upon himself to play the role of the delinquent. And he wasn’t even good at that. He was a mediocre fighter and he didn’t have an ounce of charisma. He wanted to be a proud beast, but here he was, crying as soon as He Tian touched him. It was truly laughable, but strangely fascinating how Guan Shan kept raising his head each time He Tian made him bend it down. He Tian wanted to abase him until the guy would break and realize that even being a dead last was too good for someone as worthless as him. It was kind of great, really, to be with Guan Shan. Something exhilarating that he didn’t really understand at first. But their interactions soon leaved a bad taste in his mouth afterwards. Maybe it started when Hen Tian became aware of how Guan Shan truly was afraid of him. When he had pinned him against the wall after Guan Shan had spied on him… He really didn’t like how the red head had looked then.

The worst was when he had deep-throated him by force. He didn’t know why he had done that to begin with. Certainly because he was kind of attracted to him and felt entitled to his body. Now, he really did feel like a jerk, thinking about it. The red head was so disgusted, so… distressed. He tian realized then that he didn’t want to be the sort of guy who would make others feel like that. Fuck that, he didn’t have to become like his father. What was wrong with him ? So, because a man was making him miserable, he had to make other people miserable too? What was that, such a fucked up mentality…. It was then that he had figured out why he was so horrible to Guan Shan in the first place. This desire to humiliate him, to hurt him… It was only because there were the same, after all. When he had looked at Guan Shan, he had seen himself. Lonely and powerless children, who were just toyed with in this fucked up world where they had no grasps. Where they could only played the part that was imposed on them. The worthless delinquent, the prestigious student. And that made him downright sadochistic. Or maybe in this case, masochistic ? Anyway, this day had made him want to stop being such a douche bag to Guan Shan.

He was trying, truly. And yeah, okay, he wasn’t good at it. Being a douche bag was like, inscribed in his DNA. Nevertheless, he was trying, and god knows that it had been a fucking while since he had tried anything by himself. But he wanted to be… good to Guan Shan. He thought that he wanted to be his friend. And fuck him too, parenthetically. But like, as a friend, respectfully. Because, now that he had stopped treating Guan Shan like shit, he became aware of how this guy really was. Glimpses of his true persona outside of all this wannabe delinquent act. They were kind or rare, but that made them all the more precious. Guan Shan loved his mother with all his heart and worked his ass off to make her life a little more bearable. Guan Shan was despised by everyone but he still wanted to become someone worthy. Guan Shan screamed how he didn’t care for anything at all but didn’t run away without him when they were surrounded by the gang. Guan Shan was… someone he could look up to, in fact. The more kind and decent man he had ever had the good fortune to meet. Being his friend would be an honor. Fucking him would be A++.

He Tian laughed a little. Wow… was he a love-sick schoolboy now ? It was kind of hard to figure out what were his feelings and what were his hormones. Either way, Guan Shan made him feel a little like… a normal guy ? For the first time in years he actually wanted to do efforts to have something of his own. Not like Guan Shan was something, he was past this mentality, but… well, you know what He Tian meant.

In this context, being sent to his father’s villa without his consent was a little like a punch in the gut. A few weeks before, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. But now that he wanted to be in control of his own body, of his life, of his relationships, it felt like a huge step back. How he had change in a short time! The worst was that it seemed he was sent back there without any reason at all. At first he thought that his father would make him stay here by force –on a whim, because that’s how his dad was. He was prepared to make an escape for himself like the last time. But no. He was just kept confided in a ridiculous luxurious room for four whole days, without any contact from his progenitor, and then released. He was waiting for a trap or something, but... nothing. Was his father finally becoming senile? One can wish. It put his nerves on edge though. Undeniably, there was a sense of unease in this villa when he was there. He Tian wasn’t sure if he just projected his own feelings on the atmosphere, but… something seemed off.

Another thing that was nagging at his mind was that he didn’t have any news from Guan Shan. Not that the other would ever sent him a message of his own free will –He Tian snorted at the idea. But usually he answered rather quickly to his SMS. And he has sent quite a few in the last four days. Maybe the red head truly despised him, after all. Maybe He Tian was deluding himself into thinking his interest was a tiny bit reciprocated. Should he stop harassing the Little Mo ? If he really wanted to be good to him, the best thing to do was certainly to respect this wish. He Tian entertained the idea for a few minutes. No, who was he kidding ? It wasn’t how he was. Impossible. “Sorry Little Mo, I’m not a saint”, He Tian chuckled softly.

He took his phone. Still no new SMS from the red head. He press the little phone icon next to Guan Shan name and waited. He didn’t dare to call him at his father, what with the loaned phone being monitored and all. Just a few messages here and there, innocent enough. Maybe that was why Guan Shan dared to ignore him. He Tian smirked deviously, already preparing inside his head fucked up lines to say to rile the delinquent up.

He was thinking rather it would be better to make a video call to show him his dick when the line went off. Guan Shan hasn’t answered. He Tiand frowned and tried again. And again. And again. Still no answer. He Tiand felt his heart beat faster and his belly tighten. Like when he was horny, but not in a sexy way. In a cold way. Oh god, he was panicking, wasn’t he. “For fucks sake, he’s just not answering, calm down”, he tried to rationalize. He still found himself checking the hour to see if he could go to Guan Shan right now. It was past midnight. Certainly a not-so-good thing to do to the red head’s mother, who was absolutely adorable. She didn’t deserve to be woken up by him for no good reason. He just had to stay calm and beat the asshole to death first thing in the morning when he would see him at school. Just keep calm and go to sleep.

He was phoning his brother in the next minute. The image of Guan Shan being tortured by debt collectors kept dancing behind his closed eyelids. “If this fucking guy tried to get himself killed once again, his debt is going to be the last thing in his fucking useless mind this sorry son of a-

“ What ?”, the sound of his brother voice made him return back to the moment.

“Yo, Bro…. “, he found himself at a loss. What was he going to say now ? ‘Hey do you have some news of my best buddy, big brother with whom I have such a good relationship? It seems like he hasn’t returned my three phone calls, so I find it totally reasonable to make the whole gang search the entire world for him without waking up his mother who is, may I say it again, totally awesome. I have anxiety problems and this stay at our father’s may have been detrimental to my mental health by the way’.

“… so they did tell you, I presume ?”, He Cheng asked after a few seconds of silence.

“… yeah”, He Tian answered, even if he didn’t have the slightest idea what it was about. He knew better than to appear clueless though. He got up and paced around the room.

He Cheng sighed so loudly He Tian almost felt sorry for him. Almost. “It should be alright. They should know by now that it was useless in the first place, so he should be home soon. I was going to keep you to date as soon as I had some news”.

He Tian felt his blood turn to ice. His heart stopped beating entirely.

“What. Are you. Fucking talking about”. It was hard to make the words come out of his constricted jaw.

“…okay. So I guess you didn’t know after all. What was it they did tell you then?”

“Stop fucking beating around the bush. What the hell were you talking about ?”

He Cheng sighed once again. “An informer told Father a rival gang planned to kidnap you. He made you come back to ensure your safety while we were figuring out a way to dispose of the threats. Since you weren’t around anymore to kidnap, they took the next best thing: a certain red friend of yours. I don’t know why they choose him, if it’s by chance or if they were observing you for longer than we were aware of. We didn’t know they would act so promptly either. Though, it’s a little gang, so it should be easy to take care of it. They wanted to hit big to gain notoriety quickly; their plan is a failure obviously. They are amateurs. They must be panicking right now. Give it a few days and everything will be okay”.

He Tian stayed silent for a moment.

“… How… is that a fail ? They have… they got him. How is that a fail ?” He Tian voice was so quiet He Cheng almost didn’t hear him. “What did… what did father do when he learned about that ?”

“… He didn’t do anything. It wasn’t you, so there was no need.”

He Tian’s knees gave away. He dropped to the bed.

“He Tian. You shouldn’t worry. You shouldn’t… have someone dear to you in the first place. Didn’t I tell you ? It’s not allowed.”

It was like He Tian didn’t have any breath left in him. What his brother was saying didn’t make sense. It fucking didn’t make sense.

“What are you fucking talking about… Brother. Guan Shan… isn’t a dog. He’s not a dog. He’s not a dog. He’s not…a fucking dog”. A sob resonated in the room. He Tian couldn’t breathe.

He Cheng was speechless for a second. Then he remembered the little boy who would cry and cry because he thought his puppy had died. “So, he hasn’t changed then…”, the thought made He Cheng almost reassured. He hadn’t totally ruined his little brother. Although he had to say that he chose the worst moment to be reassured. For all he knew, the rival gang could easily have killed the boy by now.

“He Tian… It’s not like Father would let the gang get away easily. Right now, the heads of the clan should know where the gang is and where they kept the boy. It’s only a matter of hours before we solved the problem. That’s why they let you go home. I should have some news very soon”.

“And in what state will we find Guan Shan, hu ?”, laughed He Tian breathlessly. “If I’m lucky, he will be mostly whole ; maybe with a few fingers less, let’s be optimistic ! Or without eyes, which is kind of inconvenient to see but overall a minor detail. No, the real question should be : will he be fucking alive, Brother ? Do you think that the gang, once dear Father told them to kindly fuck off because he couldn’t care less about something that isn’t his, would just let Guan Shan go ? Hu ? Maybe bathe him and spoon fed him a little to give him some strength for his way home ? Made him promise that “No, Sirs, I will not say to anyone what did happen here, it’s a promise if I ever made one !” and wishing him a marvelous life ? Do you think that ?? Brother ! Stop that ! Stop that ! Just… do something… do fucking something… I beg you…”

He Tian panted a little, curled up on himself. There wasn’t any sound on the other side of the line. After a moment, He Tian sniffed a little and straightened himself.

“The fuck I’m doing, crying like a drama heroin… I shouldn’t fucking waste time like that. I shouldn’t fucking… I’m done counting on you, Brother. Just tell me everything you know right now or I’m going to the fucking street and screaming every little clan secret until another gang rival can kidnap me. And if you dare sending some of you guys, I swear I’m going to throw myse-"

“That’s okay, He Tian, I kind of have the general idea. But do not utter threats that you can’t execute. You should know by now that there already are a few of my guys observing you and that if you try anything funny, they would make sure you can’t even put a foot outside of your apartment. Continue to say things like “throwing myself out the window” and I promise you I will make them barge in your home right now and tie you on a chair”.

He Tian bowed his head. Of course that’s what his brother would say.

“Now, if you’re done being ridiculous,”, continued He Cheng, “I can exceptionally authorize you working with me. It’s not like we’re going to be faster than the clan’s heads, but… With your knowledge on the boy and my information from the clan, maybe I could work where the guy is kept and send my henchmen in there sooner than what was planned. But I warn you, you won’t get to follow us in their hideout. You’ll only make the mission fail and put the boy in greater danger. I authorize you to work on this only to calm you down a little. Are we clear? He Tian ?”

“Fuck, yes, fuck, than-“ He Tian smacked his mouth closed. He exhaled shakily. “Yes. I’m going out now, tell your henchmen to take me to you”.

He Cheng sighed for the umpteenth time. He was going to be in big shit with the boss when the latter would learn what He Cheng was about to do. But he couldn’t betray his brother, not again. The images of him crying for the dog have kept him awake for years now. He couldn’t do the same mistake twice.

“He Tian. We’ll find him. I promise.”

He Tian got up and briefly wiped his eyes while he pulled on his jacket. “Ha, funny how you still think your promises mean anything to me”.

Still talking to his brother, He Tian left his apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which I have no idea how the chinese mafia works and no idea what the deal with Jian Yi and He Tian's fathers is, but here are my headcanons !!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this chapter may seems boring bc its like 5 pages of mafia politics, but i need to make the scenario plausible so...bear with it for the moment please ! soon there will be like... things that happen. probably.

He Tian eavesdropped his brother talking to his phone in another room. The words he could catch on didn’t give any indication however, a long litany of useless “ok”, “hm”, “I understand”. If it was on purpose on his brother’s part because the fucker knew him too well or if it was just this apathetic asshole’s way of speaking, he didn’t have any idea, but it pissed him of all the same.

He heard his brother’s footsteps approaching and he scrambled to return to his place. He Cheng throwed him a pointed look once in the same room, but He Tian kept acting like he was sincerely concentrated on the map in front of him.

He Cheng’s henchmen had brought him in a place that looked like any other night clubs for the untrained eyes, but which was really a front store to hide his brother dubious business. The guys in black in the various corner of the dance floor and the many comings and goings of other shady dudes betrayed the true purpose of the place.

What exactly his business was, He Tian didn’t know, even if he wasn’t idiot enough to not have a clue. He has estranged himself from his brother since a few years back, since, in fact, the… puppy incident. This day, he had cut any emotional attachments on the spot and when he moved out to live alone, he didn’t make any effort to keep in touch with him or to be acquainted with his activities. He just phoned him when he wanted more hands to scare those who stood in his way, and even so, he tried as much as possible to not resort to it. He didn’t like being indebted to his family, and he knew He Cheng services were rarely gratuitous.

He was aware of the outline, though : his brother was here to ensure their father continued control on the territory, since the old man was practically retired and enjoying his money on prolonged holidays in islands, coming back only to preside over the falsely important meetings where the clan heads all pretended to still be actively involved on the field. What a bunch of shitheads… There they were, a band of old motherfucker deciding everything even if they weren’t the ones aware of what was happening on the field, while the bastards of their numerous affairs were in charge of the ground. He Cheng was the best of them, which was why he was the one assigned in He Tian’s protection, as the official son of the clan boss.

The more important adolescent out here though was Jian Yi, and that was kind of the reason why He Tian was in this ordinary middle school in the first place. The blond spaz was the heir of the Jian clan and was reputed to be the apple of Mr. Jian’s eyes.

The He clan was subservient to the Jian clan for several decades now. Since, in fact, the war that had pitted the two families against each other for the control of the city, which ended in the He’s total debacle. But to everybody’s surprise, instead of slaughtering the He clan, as was the custom, Mr. Jan had offered to keep Mr. He in control of the territory, provided that his clan became loyal to the Jian clan and that he responded in priority to the Jian’s orders. Mr. He had accepted, of course he has, and since then they all evolved in this relationship with fuzzy outlines. Loyal to the family, but obedient to the Jian clan. One’s could say that most of the profits went to the He family in exchange for the work they were doing on the land, and they returned some of it to the Jian clan, and generally that’s all there was to it.

But when Mr. Jian had a special request, the He family bent over backward to answer it. They were few and far between though, and most of them concerned Jian Yi. That was how everyone and their cousin knew that you didn’t fuck with the happy idiot.

That was also why He Cheng warned him about the blond guy (“Keep your distance, observe him from afar, He Tian”), and of course He Tian did the exact opposite. He was kind of curious about how the most famous heir of the country was living this condition –were they similar?. He Tian was surprised to learn that the spaz didn’t seem to have any idea of who he was, and even more surprised to see that the strange events that pace his life didn’t seem to faze him. Like, seriously? Two kidnapping, strange big guys on your doorstep who gave you bags of money, an unknown father and an absent mother? And the only thing the stupid idiot thought about was his fucking crush? For god’s sake, He Tian was both envious and appalled by the guy’s behavior. That or the blond was the fucking best actor of the century.

For business concerning the He clan, He Cheng had basically carte blanche to manage the neighborhood for which he was responsible. He had to listen to the clan heads orders, of course, and report his activities of the week, but that was all. He Cheng was the most effective and obedient dog the family could have hoped for. Now, the He clan trusted him blindly and he had Mr. Jian’s personal number.

That was certainly why He Tian could be here in the first place. With anyone other than He Cheng, certainly people would have demanded why the He’s heir was there when he should be monitored in his apartment. But since his brother was who he was, everyone kept his mouth closed.

“Okay, so it seems that we were right. My men did find suspicious tire tracks in the alley we thought of, and there are testimonies that corroborate our speculations”, began He Cheng.

They have passed the last hour tracing on a map the possible emplacements of the hideout they were searching for. He Tian knew the habits of Guan Shan and the path he took to go home after his job. All they had to do was find a place on this path where it would have been easy to kidnap someone without too much mayhem – like a black alley with few witnesses. Here, they could park their car and wait until the red head passes in front of them. Catching someone with their guard lowered and throwing them inside a car took approximately 3 minutes. Then, with He Cheng’s knowledge of the habits of the gang and their quarter, they could pinpoint their closest hideouts to the emplacement of the kidnapping. There’s no point in bringing a victim too far away if what the gang want is a transaction.

However, there were three hideouts which corresponded to these calculations. And one hour had already passed. No, three days had already passed since Guan Shan's disappearance. He Tian thought he was becoming mad. He had managed to keep his head clear during the last hour, but the adrenaline, the anxiety and the frustration of not being more efficient made him tirelessly repeat the motto “faster ! faster !! faster!!!” to the point that he could not focus on anything anymore. One hour already… and still three hideouts to investigate.

What if Guan Shan died in the hours that followed ? Being this close to his goal and failing… He Tian would never forgive himself. What if Little Mo was slowly losing his blood right this moment while He Tian was doing fucking nothing? He Tian stirred his legs and pulled on his hair.

“Hey, He Tian… Putting yourself in this state won’t make us more efficient. Keep your calm.”

“That's so easy for you to say… It’s not like what’s happening affects you in any ways. Feeling nothing if you’re not ordered to feel something... What it’s like, being less than a dog?” He Tian didn’t even try to hide the bitterness in his voice.

“It’s being able to protect what I want to protect. Something you don’t seem able to do, so keep your sour remarks for yourself and come judge me when you won’t need me anymore”.

He Tian curled up upon himself even more. He Cheng averted his eyes; he didn’t do a good job in making his brother feel better, was he?

Once upon a time, when he was himself paralyzed by fear or anger, the only thing that pulled him out of this state was the reminder of what he had to do. Act first, feel after. But obviously, what worked for him didn’t work for his brother. He Cheng didn’t know what to make of it. He wasn’t used to deal with sensitive people. And it was becoming clearer and clearer that his brother, beyond his facade of bravado, was a sensitive child. Normally, that would have irked He Cheng, but the affection he still felt towards his brother made him feel protective in a twisted sense. It was a long time ago since the resentment he first felt toward his brother at the birth of the latter has grown into a strange fondness for the little guy who would run after him to ask for his attention. Yeah, his brother was pitiful. And he was the heir of the clan. For once, He Cheng would have liked to go against the family’s orders. But as a bastard, there was no way he could become something more than He Tian’s shadow.

“Come on, we are almost there. It’s not the moment to be depressed. I’m going to send a few of my men to investigate each place discreetly. They’ll tell me what the right hideout is, and I’ll go take care of everything then”.

When He Tian didn’t answer, He Cheng stood up and went to the backroom with his phone to give said orders to his men.

“If your little friend could survive the last few days, he’ll make it until tonight”, said He Cheng when he was on the doorstep.

He Tian looked daggers at him and grabbed the closest object to throw at him. He Cheng heard the glass smashed against the door he had just closed.

…Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the good thing to say. ‘How the fuck do you comfort someone?’ mused He Cheng while lighting a cigarette.

“Trouble in paradise?” a jeering voice at his right inquired.

“One could say that. So, how’s the babysitting going?”

Qiu scowled and returned his attention to his own cigarette. He Cheng phoned three of his best guys to give them the addresses they had to investigate.

“News from the fucker gang?” Qiu asked once He Cheng finished his calls.

He Cheng sighed. “No, and it’s fucking strange, if I’m being honest”.

“Kidnappers who don’t ask for transactions… It’s a first, indeed. Maybe they like the kid”, Qiu snickered.

“I don’t have news from the kidnappers, and the clan heads won’t give me information unless I pester them. Mr. He don’t answer his calls, either” explained He Cheng, frowning.

“Your father?” asked Qiu, surprised. “Why the fuck won’t he answer you ? Isn’t this thing like, concerning his heir?”

“I know. That’s why I don’t like this. I don’t think… it’s what the clan heads made it out to be. Something’s fishy”.

“…You mean it’s certainly not a little gang doing stupid things to gain notoriety. Could they be hired by another clan?”

He Cheng refrained from confirming the shaved man’s inklings. They weren’t from the same clan, after all. Qiu was a direct subordinate of Mr. Jian and had no ties to the He family. They worked together for the Jian, but sometimes He Cheng wondered if it wasn’t a clever way of monitoring the He clan.

“Mr. He made his heir came back to him for four days and let him go before we could take care of the situation. He then didn’t proceed to stay informed of the follows-up. The other clan heads seem reticent to tell me what they know. Truth be told, they stopped communications with me by now. They have their right-hand men tell me to wait for further instructions”.

“The fuck? Then that means that you’re basically acting solo?” exclaimed Qiu, swinging around to face He Cheng.

“Yeah, but that’s hardly a first. I manage this neighborhood, and this kidnapping took place here.”

“You’re not following your clan orders!”

“I can’t contradict you”, said He Cheng, exhaling a puff of smoke. “But then, it’s hardly your concern. It’s a family matter. Or should Mr. Jian be aware of this?”

Qiu widened his eyes before turning his head, not looking at He Cheng anymore. He Cheng raised an eyebrow.

“I can understand why you don’t trust me, He Cheng. For what it’s worth, though, I’m not a snitch.”

He Cheng kept silent. They continued to smoke side by side for a few minutes.

“What if your family doesn’t approve of your initiatives?” asked Qiu, quietly.

“There’s no reason for them to be aware of them. I’ll just say that I was doing my life, waiting for orders, when my men witnessed something fishy hereabout and, oh, would you believe that, seems like it was the rival gang, causing commotion in my territory. Took care of them, found the boy at the same time, everything’s okay.”

Qiu snickered. “Yeah, how convenient. Just as you were waiting for orders, the famous gang chooses to make an appearance to catch your attention. Do you think they’ll believe you? Don’t put yourself in unnecessary difficult situations, moron”.

Just as He Cheng was going to tell him to watch his mouth, his phone chimed. He glared at Qiu and answered when he saw it was one of his men.

Qiu observed He Cheng face change. The guy seems surprised, and that was a first. Usually, he was as expressive as an out-of-date oyster. The news must have been quite shocking. He Cheng emitted a unique “hm, going there” before hanging up. He looked at his phone for a moment.

“Well?”

“Well, seems like you spoke too fast. One of my men witnessed strange movements and saw numerous suspicious unknown cars heading towards what seems to be one of the hideout we were investigating. The famous gang chooses indeed to make an appearance to catch my attention”.

“…Seems like you won’t need to lie to your clan, then. Be careful.”

* * *

 

He Tian was still fuming from his brother’s last sentence, despite the fact he was trying to concentrate on the information he had in front of him. He had almost convinced himself to go to one of the hideout by himself. The rational part of him knew that it was a stupid idea though. He wished for the umpteenth time for the death of his whole motherfucker family and throw a kick to the table.

“Hey, easy here”, admonished his brother’s voice behind him.

“Easy my ass”, He Tian glared. “Did you send your men?”

“Of course. And I have news. We know where the kid is”.


End file.
